One of the first questions out of nearly every Husker fan's mouth this summer is "how's Matt Herian doing?"

Well here's what we know. Herian hasn't played a game of football since Oct. of 2004. He didn't start to practice again until Dec. of 2005. This spring, Herian was slowed by a hamstring injury that had nothing to do with the broken leg he suffered in 2004. This summer Herian is going through conditioning with his teammates and all reports are he's doing just fine.

However, the question everybody really wants to know is will Herian be the same tight end that used to beat Big 12 safeties and linebackers at will?

This spring, it was hard for first-year tight end's coach Shawn Watson to even answer this question, because he has yet to see Herian at full strength.

"He's not full speed yet, but I'll tell you he's really close," Watson said at the end of spring ball. "He's the best he's been since I've been here. I'm really encouraged."

The key with Herian is attitude. Ever since the 6-foot-5, 245 pound Herian arrived to Lincoln as a freshman, he's always carried himself in a humble fashion.

This past spring, Watson said Herian once again brought a business like approach to the practice field each day.

For Herian, being out of the game for over 18 months wasn't easy to swallow. Every day last fall Herian spent practice doing rehab with the NU training staff.